Last night on the ABC News (17 June 2020) it broke that not only had Ann Marie lost her life due to terrible neglect by the carer and the provider, and NDIS - but also jewellery was taken that she owned and her mother had given her.
Ann Marie left in a chair day and night for a year possibly and having malnutrition (not being fed properly) in her own home, a house parents had built for her before they passed away, where she was meant to be cared by a worker each day, but also NDIS was meant to be giving her services...crass and blatant lack of care is what really happened. Ann Marie died in hospital after the worker called an ambulance
Her refrigerator and a small bar fridge were also missing, stolen, guess they werent needed since she was not being fed - no food. May that worker get prison time - sacked for stealing from previous clients, and never screened by INtegrity not care, or by the quality commission and who let poor Ann Marie live or lie in a prison of her chair and house for over a year - never seeing the light of day uncared for unloved not fed properly - this is heart breaking enough
now to add insult to injury -
- the police report that much jewellery owned by Ann Marie is missing - bracelets and hair clips made of gold which Ann Marie owned and had made at a jewellers. They note that Ann Marie once had a life even in her wheel chair having cerebral palsey, she still went for walks with her little dogs. A photo showing her having fun with her doggies a time of happiness...yet the last two to three years of her life - she suffered health problems, but there are no doctors or dentist health records. She was not taken out of her house to feel the sun on her face. Obviously she was left to suffer alone, with those health problems and could not do anything about it. Phone calls made for an ndis review are no use to a woman who cannot move or maybe even talk properly - reviews are rigorous and hard for any parent of a disability child to do having to prove you need services for your son or daughter or they just wont give you enough funds. How would a woman like this who relied on a worker only one worker and with no visitors do that review for herself?
NDIS should be ashamed and Stuart Robert for failing to provide people - yes people to help this poor woman who more than needed it, needed funding and more workers to work with her physically and be there for her emotionally. Yes Stuart Robert step down from your ivory tower and see how the other half live - that could be you one day stuck in an old people's home or by yourself with no visitors.
Apparently Ann Marie used to get her carers to take her to jewellers to make up jewellery her one happiness I guess in life. I saw in other articles that previous workers who lived in with her were sacked and some even tried to squat in her house to get the house! This poor girl cannot get out of a wheel chair and they try to take her house from her? What have we come to...
So we see how a disability person is exploited as well as neglected. Some people will take advantage of another disability and take their money and possessions from them. How despicable. Even taking her refrigerator. Then taking her jewellery from her her precious reminders of her mother.
This refrigerator missing reminds me of when my mother died and I found that the refrigerator had been swopped in her house a few months afterwards for a much older one. I believed the other executor did it but would not own up when I questioned him. I didnt try to fight for it back as a waste of legal fees but it got me how much people will steal even off the dying! How much more will they exploit the vulnerable living...and dying .....
I realized as my mother died that the vultures were circling and I was so naive and innocent about it then. I thought people actually cared yet unfortunately I woke up to the nature of humans and the harsh reality that if I did not fight for my rights I would lose everything in the end.
We need to fight for our rights and our children's rights as a matter of course. We cannot lie down and let it go. No it is not ok for someone to hurt your child in care and get away with it.
Now I see many disability people including my own son, not only injured and it is covered up due to lack of camera evidence,
but being exploited by the providers for the money they want yet feigning they care, and if we leave it and do not fight for the right for protections, for all disability children young and old, and cameras in places of care, then our disability children, especially those who are non verbal will never have any rights or protections and neither will we as parents.
Another disability person in a wheelchair, was recently robbed at an ATM machine, which was also on the news last night (ABC 17 June 2020) but because there were cameras the culprits two bad boy teens were caught and charged. I have seen that disability man collecting donations for disability organizations he is a very brave man. Im glad the thieves got caught.
We need the cameras - as one mother said to me after she put cameras in her daughters accommodation who was non verbal -
once the cameras were in the stealing in the accommodation house and the bullying stopped...and the organization actually thanked her...
its the fact that no one will tell you any answers that gets to you, and the workers all plead ignorance, because the provider wants your child's NDIS funding money. I said to the manager of the house where my son stays after his music phone and numerous clothing went missing - thats why we need cameras so we can see whats really happening. The manager said nothing since it is true maybe a provider or manager does not want to be that accountable.
Cameras in care and stronger laws that make it mandatory to investigate incidents against disability persons, are the only protection we have really got when bad things happen to our vulnerable dear ones as without these two protections, the police will also do nothing. So we must fight for these protetion for our children
all the best
Anndrea x